China defends Huawei after employee’s arrest in Poland

Beijing, Jan 14 (IANS) China on Monday defended the reputation of telecom giant Huawei after its executive was arrested in Poland on charges of spying.

The executive was later fired by Huawei and the company said that the incident had harmed its reputation.

“This case is an individual case. We hope the Polish side can arrange any consular visit regarding this case in accordance with law and regulation and ensure the legitimate rights and interest of the person involved,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters.

The Polish government on Friday reported the arrest of Wang Weijing and Piotr D.

The latter, also accused of spying, is a senior Polish official at the Internal Security Agency who previously worked in the Orange telephone company.

Wang worked as Sales Director of the multinational division in Poland and had allegedly worked at the Chinese consulate in the Polish city of Gdansk, according to the Polish public television network DVT.

Hua came out in defence of Huawei when she was asked if Poland would consider restricting the use of its products in the country’s public agencies.

“Only with facts and evidence we can see which companies hold security threats. I think the reputation of Huawei is recognized by its partners. We hope the relevant parties can stop smearing and suppressing Huawei and other Chinese enterprises,” she said.

Huawei announced Wang’s dismissal during the weekend, saying his alleged actions were “unrelated to the company” and regretted that the incident in question had harmed its reputation.

“Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates and we require every employee to abide by the laws and regulations in the countries where they are based,” the company said in a statement.

The offices of Huawei and Orange in Warsaw were raided by members of the counterintelligence and national security agency as part of the investigation, authorities said.

Wang’s arrest in Poland came after Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was held in Canada on December 1 at the behest of the US for allegedly violating sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran.